RFU dig deep over England sex claim

Jeff Blackett, the Rugby Football Union's disciplinary officer, insisted last night that he would take "as long as it takes" to discover the truth concerning allegations of sexual misconduct against four England players in the team hotel in Auckland following their defeat against New Zealand in the first Test.

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Blackett will interview anybody in the England party he believes might be able to throw light on the allegations, which were made on behalf of an 18-year-old Auckland woman, although she has still to lodge an official complaint herself.

If any criminality is unearthed Blackett will forward the evidence to the appropriate authorities.

If the evidence suggests the four players allegedly involved should be completely exonerated, they will be, but if the evidence points to a breach of the players' code of conduct but falls short of criminality they could be reprimanded or disciplined.

Blackett said last night: "My immediate thought was that we should attempt to get this done by next Tuesday when Martin Johnson offers contracts to the 32 players in his new elite player squad, but that simply will not be possible logistically. It will take as long as it takes but I am very much hoping and expecting that it will be weeks rather than months.

"It must be a very sensitive investigation. This is an RFU investigation and I will be taking great care not to trespass in any way on any police investigations that may still be going on in New Zealand. That will not happen.

The board also decided that Francis Baron, the chief executive, Andrew and Johnson should set to work immediately to review and revise the players' code of conduct and have a new one in place to be incorporated into the new players' contracts.